Counting kernels
By: John Walter
A 1,200 Corn Belt tour turns up a "tipped back" crop and the "plant disease of the year."

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A sample pulled from a field north of Des Moines--first stop on a crop tour that covered 1,200 miles from central Iowa to southern Indiana--some of the best cropland in the country. This field foreshadowed what was to be seen on down the road: high variability among and within fields.